Dresden's rowdy reception for Suharto

TAPOL Report, 6 April, 1995

The following is based on a press release issued today by
Watch Indonesia, press sources and original documents:

On his arrival in Dresden yesterday, 5 April, the last day
of his visit to Germany, President Suharto was given a rowdy
welcome by a crowd of some 150 people waving posters,
beating drums and blowing whistles. The Indonesian dictator
was escorted by a large number of German police and several
dozen men in civilian clothing, wearing dark glasses,
obviously from the Indonesian intelligence.

Demonstrators called for the withdrawal of the Indonesian
military from East Timor and for the people of East Timor to
exercise their right to self-determination.

Among the demonstrators were three East Timorese, Luciano
Valentim da Conceixao, Vitor Tavares and Jose Manuel, who
were among the 29 who entered the US embassy in Jakarta last
November. They shouted slogans calling for the release of
resistance leader Xanana Gusm~o and a stop to German arms
sales to Indonesia.

A planned for Suharto to attend a performance at the Dresden
Opera House was abandoned, apparently because the orchestra
refused to perform for the Indonesian president.

Large protesting crowds followed him when he visited the
Zwinger portrait gallery in the city. He remained for only
half an hour, and left, apparently irritated by the noisy
demonstration that continued outside.

Leaders from four of the six parliamentary groups in the
Dresden parliament including the Greens, the Social
Democrats (SPD) and the PDS (former communists) signed a
joint statement declaring Suharto unwelcome in Dresden. They
cited among others the killing of at least half a million
people when Suharto came to power in 1965 and the invasion
of East Timor in 1975.

All state politicians who met Suharto, including the German
president, Roman Herzog, and Foreign Minister Klaus Kinken,
raised human rights issues with him; the only one to avoid
the issue was Chancellor Helmut Kohl.

Germany hopes to become Indonesia's first partner in Europe,
its gateway to the European Union. Chancellor Kohl has
described Rudy Habibie, one of Suharto's closest associates
and a likely successor, as "Indonesia's greatest investment
in Germany". Suharto is looking for more German investment.
This week, Germany won three milliard marks worth of orders
to build a number of industries, including a coal energy
supplier and ships.